Can you believe Easter is in March and it is already March?  This week, Friday field trip is a little trip back in memory to Easter’s past.  I will also be sharing some Easter basket ‘goody’ ideas for Easter bunnies ;)

Easter was so fun when the children were young… leaving the carrot with the front teeth marks on the kitchen table so the kids could find it in awe;  sure that the Easter bunny had visited and quickly thinking about the treats in store as they scrambled to rifle through their baskets!

My kids are college students now and Easter is celebrated a little differently.  It still retains its awe, but in a much different way.  It is the one holiday in our family where everyone is together, so it makes for a very special day.

In the morning, my kids still discover filled Easter baskets on Easter morning.  They are the Easter baskets I made for them…yes, wove them….when they were babies.  My daughter had a thing for yellow when she was small so hers was accented in yellow and filled with yellow ‘grass’.  For my son, I made an apple basket and dyed it blue.

The basket contents these days are little different than when they were small, but I think the baskets are just as well received.  Not as much candy in recent years, although their favorite candies are still included.  My son loves Lindt truffles (red) and my daughter loves pear jelly beans.  Jelly Belly brand jelly beans have always been a tradition in the Easter baskets.  Each basket receives an assortment box, but my daughter always gets an additional extra bag filled exclusively with the pear flavored variety…that Easter bunny is just so darn thoughtful!

In recent years, egg hunts in the living room are replaced with a GPS egg hunt throughout the town and beyond with teams of twenty-somethings scrambling to locate the hidden eggs and be the first back to grandma’s house.

My young niece and nephews still search the yard for filled plastic eggs that my sister has strategically placed around my mother’s yard.  When that is completed and trading of the contents ensues,  everyone makes a guess as to how many jelly beans are in the huge glass jar my mom has filled and whose contents were accurately counted the day before.  The person with the closest guess wins the entire jar (…and, may or may not share with the group lol).  We always think my sister, the math teacher, is sure to win; but that is never the case.

An “oldie but goodie.” I started making these as a Kindergarten room mother…cellophane is shaped into a cone and is filled with anything orange…candy, goldfish, etc…fun!

My favorite part of Easter?  Taking the annual ‘goofy cousins’ photo at some point during the day.   And, I still love coloring eggs with my daughter which we schedule best we can sometime before Easter.  What makes your Easter special?

Do you have trouble thinking of items to include in your child’s Easter baskets as they become college age?  Necessities are always appreciated…you can’t miss with socks and underwear!  Commercial washers and dryers are brutal on these items!  Here is a list of possible goodies to choose from in a variety of price ranges.  Remember to consider the recipient’s special interest or college major to make the items more personal.  Have fun with it!  Send me an email if you need some suggestions.

Easter Basket Gift Ideas

I found these for my nursing student’s Easter basket :)

• Candy – favorites or novelty
• Band-Aids
• Alix & Ani bracelet
• James Patrick Keil bracelet
• Vitamins, aspirins, etc.
• Any toiletry item
• Toothbrush economy pack
• Lottery tickets
• ITunes certificate
• Train/bus ticket to come home for a family function
• Laundry card, token, or coins
• Dunkin Donut or Starbucks certificates
• Printer cartridge
• Drug store, gas station or Amazon certificate
• Chegg money for renting textbooks
• Paper cups/plates/utensils
• A gift certificate to something local to their school
• Key covers – they have fun ones in Home Depot
• Cell phone covers – can be personalized/decorated
• Family photo – a recent one or one from childhood
• Concert or sporting event tickets local to their school
• Easter motif socks or boxers
  

  I found these hair brushes in a pattern my daughter is sure to love!

• Laundry bag or laundry bag for delicates
• Hair elastics
• Nail polish pen
• Emery boards in funky pattern
• Flash drives (these come in silly patterns – surfboards, Legos, sushi, etc.)

I hope you enjoyed today’s Easter nostalgia and some tips for Easter basket gifts.  I hope my Easter nostalgia caused you to reminisce about some special moments of your own Easter’s past.

Stop back tomorrow when I will announce February’s book giveaway winner and the giveaway selection for March.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Thank you so much for visiting, Jackie